cool side trip off the loop to make for an exciting, exhausting 17 mile tour of the Chisos Mountains. Or this makes a good, short destination hike in itelf. There is a little bit of slightly exposed class 2+ scrambling at the very very end, but you must do it to get any kind of view. The summit is the highest point in Big Bend. I've been up here a couple of times and there always seems to be about a million ladybugs. This whole area is one of the coolest hikes in Texas!

Very Crowded trail at start . At the summit with two others very good views in all directions. The day before climbed Lost Mine peak a difficult bushwhack through much creosote bushes and cacti.Very cool time in Big Bend .

This is a nice dayhike if you are in the area and the views from the top are fantastic. On one trip the clouds were passing through us on the summit before rushing down over the edge into the Chisos Basin.

I watched the sun go down from atop Emory Peak on a beautiful, clear December evening. It was perhaps the most incredible sunset I had ever seen, mixed with the expansive views south into Mexico. Emory Peak is probably not a destination in itself, but it is certainly an excellent side trip off of the Chisos Mountain/South Rim trail.

I stayed in one of the "Lodge Units" the night before with two friends and a set of parents -- not much fun. The next day we hiked up Emory Peak. It was a pleasant hike to the summit. The temperature was probably in the 40s and the wind was howling.